One week before he made the play of his life to extend his
distinguished career and bring his fellow Terrapins along for one
more chapter in his final NCAA tournament, Maryland senior
attackman Joe Cummings owned up to a huge mistake by pointing the
finger at himself in front of his teammates.

It happened in the final seconds of the third quarter in the
regular-season finale at Colgate, where Maryland was trying to
secure one last home game in the postseason. The Terps were
leading, 9-8, and had set up a restart play with Cummings as the
ball carrier.

The idea was two-fold: Milk the clock before cutting to the goal
and letting his defensive read dictate whether to pass or shoot.
And don't leave Colgate any time to answer with its explosive
transition game.

In the excitement of the moment, Cummings, usually the coolest
of customers, proceeded to ditch the plan by barreling into trouble
and getting the ball stripped. The Raiders, who had just scored
their eighth goal seconds earlier, scooped up the turnover,
launched into their fast break, and tied the score with two seconds
left in the quarter. With that, important momentum was with
Colgate, which extended its lead to 11-9 and never trailed from
there in its 13-11 victory.

Following the loss, which landed the Terps on the road for their
first-round matchup against Lehigh last Sunday, Cummings got an
earful from head coach John Tillman about his decision-making
– especially as a team captain. Cummings already was busy
beating himself up over his lapse in judgment. He later spoke to
the team.

"Joe took responsibility for that play," Maryland LSM Jesse
Bernhardt said. "He manned up. He made himself accountable for what
happened. That's Joe. That's the kind of senior leadership that
stands out with this team, and Joe has exemplified that."

"I was really disappointed in myself after the Colgate game.
That was a big momentum changer. I let my team down. I learned a
hard lesson," Cummings said. "I was just hoping we would have
another opportunity to [play] again. I told my guys I was committed
to playing as hard and tough and smart as I could."

Fast forward to Sunday at No. 7 seed Lehigh, where Maryland
– having lost a 6-1 lead, having willed its way back from
fourth-quarter deficits of 8-6 and 9-8 by tying the Mountain Hawks
– turned to the heart of their team once again to make the
critical play. This time, Cummings, camped behind the Lehigh net
near the end line with the defense playing well off him, waited
patiently before hoping to take the last shot or make the last
pass. He stood there, cradling the ball for 15...20...30...35
seconds.

Finally, this time, right on time, Cummings made his move. He
ran at his long-pole obstacle, veered left and used a screen by
senior midfielder Drew Snider to beat a short-stick defender on a
switch, looped around the right side of the crease into an open
seam, his stick raised. Cummings then zipped a high shot past
goalie Matthew Poillon with six seconds left. Game over.

"That was some of the longest 45 seconds of my life holding that
ball. Every cell in my body wanted to go to the goal right away,"
Cummings said. "To be able to reconcile what had happened a week
earlier was definitely a good feeling. I'm glad I didn't hit a
pipe. I finally put one away."

If anybody deserved to drive home a last-second, game-winning
shot for the first time in his college career, it was Cummings, who
has more than paid his dues in College Park.

That "pipe" reference? It goes back to April 2011 at Byrd
Stadium, a night when Cummings, then an emerging star as a junior
midfielder, lit up archrival Johns Hopkins for four goals, but
still ended up crushed in an overtime defeat. That night, what
should have been the game's final shot and Cummings' fifth goal,
found pipe on what proved to the Maryland's last gasp.

Funny how things come full circle. On Saturday in the
quarterfinals at Navy, for the first time since 1998, Maryland and
Hopkins will knock heads in the postseason.

"To be able to reconcile what had happened a week earlier was
definitely a good feeling. I'm glad I didn't hit a pipe. I finally
put one away."

-- Joe Cummings on his
winning goal against Lehigh.

A player like Cummings – equally humble, no-flash and
fiercely competitive, comfortable as the leading man or supporting
actor, talks like an Ivy Leaguer but fits nicely in Terrapin skin
– should be on such a stage in his last, collegiate
go-round.

Ever since he arrived at Maryland, as a graduate of Loyola (Md.)
Blakefield, where he often was overshadowed by teammate and current
Virginia superstar Steele Stanwick, Cummings has fit in seamlessly
with the Terps.

As a first-year midfielder, he split time on the scout team, but
made his time count by making the All-ACC tournament team and
winning the Levitt Memorial Award as the best freshman. As a
sophomore, with the offense dominated by emerging attack stars
Grant Catalino, Ryan Young and Travis Reed, Cummings grinded his
way to 16 goals in 11 starts.

Last year, as mostly a second-line midfielder who never griped
about starting only five games among the 17, Cummings' game
flourished with 27 goals and sparkling, 39 percent shooting. That
drew third-team All-American recognition. But the ride ended with a
9-7 loss to Virginia in the NCAA title game.

The choice was obvious last fall when it came time for the
players to vote on a captain. Especially on a team that had lost
six starters and other layers of depth to graduation. How could it
not be the senior wearing No. 19?

Ever since he received the Jack Faber Memorial Scholarship at
Maryland, after spurning the recruiting advances of coaches such as
Tillman – who was then at Navy, before taking his first head
coaching job at Harvard – Cummings has brought the full
package to Maryland. It goes beyond the crisp shots and sharp cuts
and ground-ball cravings that push him. It goes beyond the economy
in his game and his team-highs in goals (31) and points (43) this
year.

"Joe has all of the attitudes you like in a student-athlete.
He's very dedicated to his studies, very low-maintenance in that
area. Tremendous competitor on the field, and he doesn't seek the
attention some other players might," Tillman said.

"The last thing Joe is worried about is being cool. He's really
worried about doing things the right way. He's about as
well-rounded a person that you can find."